The Effect Of Different Stages Of Disc Degeneration On Paravertebral Muscles In Patients With Low Back Pain Was Evaluated Based On MRTA

Objective: To explore the changes of paravertebral muscle function in different grades of disc degeneration in patients with low back pain by using MRI texture analysis.Method: Imaging data of 94 patients with low back pain undergoing MRI examination were retrospectively collected,and 118 cases of corresponding images at the central level of intervertebral disc at the level of L3-L4、L4-L5、L5-S1 were selected,and grouped according to the degree of lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration,n = 33 cases in the mild degeneration group(Pfirrmann1).In the moderate degeneration group(Pfirrmann2-3)n = 55 cases,in the severe degeneration group(Pfirrmann4-5)n = 30 cases.By using texture analysis software,the regions of interest(n = 354)were delineated on the bilateral psoas major,erector spinus and multifidus muscles corresponding to each other at the intervertebral disc central level and the first order texture parameter histograms such as mean,variance,skewness,kurtosis and percentile were obtained.Results: The mean,variance,kurtosis and skewness of psoas major,erector spinus and multifidus were significantly different among the three groups(P < 0.05),other texture parameters in percentile 1,percentile 10,percentile 50,percentile 90 and percentile 99 were not statistically significant(P > 0.05);Meaningful parameters were selected,ROC curves were delineated,and AUC values were calculated.The AUC values corresponding to the skewness of psoas major,multifidus and erector spinus were 0.73,0.84 and 0.87,respectively,and the AUC values corresponding to kurtosis were 0.73,0.75 and 0.89.Conclusion: MRI texture analysis can be used as a preliminary evaluation tool to evaluate the changes of paravertebral muscle function in patients with different levels of disc degeneration in low back pain.